I like to take lots and lots of numbers and turn them into proprietary concepts and multi-platform content. Three of my longstanding publishing creations: the valuations of sports teams, ranking actors and movie studios on bang for the buck (ROI) and the Forbes Fab 40 (the most valuable sports brands). My most recent idea was Names You Need To Know, which broadened my concept of list creation to include direct input from our audience. I also like to take apart corporate balance sheets to measure earnings quality and have a passion for economics (my MBA thesis at Long Island University was an empirical study on the cause of inflation in which regression analysis showed a significant correlation between the general level of prices and the money supply). Besides being an Executive Editor at Forbes I also have a gig as co-host and Managing Editor of the 3-time New York Emmy award winning Forbes SportsMoney on the YES Network and Fox Sports 1 with my buddies at YES, co-host Bob Lorenz and producer David Alfreds, both of whom have taught me a tremendous amount. I also regularly appear on Fox and CNBC to chat about the business, political and sports issues of the day. My brother in arms is Kurt Badenhausen, whom I have worked with for many years and knows more about sports numbers than anyone.

The Maloofs have been trying to get taxpayers to pay for a new arena in Sacramento for years to replace the antiquated Sleep Train Arena, to no avail. A year ago we valued the Kings at $300 million, 23rd out of the league’s 30 teams, based on their current arena.

As part of the move to Seattle, the team will play in KeyArena (the former home of the SuperSonics) for two seasons (which they hope to renovate), then move into a modern, $490 million arena that they will operate, with more suites and other revenue-generating amenities. The Kings will also likely get a much more lucrative local television deal in Seattle. They currently get less than $12 million a year.

The Maloofs have also been struggling with their casino business during the economic downturn, and were recently trying to restructure debt on the Palms Casino Resort. The Maloofs could still own a small stake in the Kings after the deal, which has yet to be finalized.

Hedge fund managers have been buying sports properties with gusto recently. Joshua Harris lead a group that purchased the 76ers of the NBA in 2011 . Most Wall Streeters have generated very good returns on their teams, generally beating the stock market by a wide margin over comparable periods.

In Seattle, Ballmer would be joining another Microsoft billionaire, Paul Allen, the software maker’s co-founder, who owns the NFL’s Seahawks.

If the deal is completed and the Kings move to Seattle, the Maloofs will have to pay the city of Sacramento around $77 million to cover a loan Sacramento made to the Kings in July 1997, two years before the Maloofs bought the franchise.

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NBAToColumbus: I hear what you are saying but Stern believes and NBA team in a new building (with a new tv deal) is more viable in Seattle. I also believe it is quite possible that an NHL team could move to Seattle and be a co-tennant in the basketball team’s building.

You write, “The Maloofs have been trying to get taxpayers to pay for a new arena in in Sacramento for years to replace the antiquated Sleep Train Arena to no avail.”

While I shouldn’t express shock that Forbes finds fault in the public rather than the business owners, perhaps you should actually read the ESPN article you link to, which states, “Under the agreement, the Kings and arena operator AEG each agreed to pay about $3.25 million in pre-development costs with the city paying the remaining $6.5 million.”

The city voted and passed measures to make this happen, measures that were not unanimously popular in Sacramento, in order to keep the team. The city was prepared to do far more than most cities are asked, but it was the Maloofs that walked away from the deal over quibbles regarding less than 2 percent of the overall cost. This is a heartbreak for that city, and it is almost entirely the fault of poor ownership. NOT the fault of the city of Sacramento.